The Power of the Church: The Sacramental Ecclesiology of Abraham Kuyper

It is fascinating that in all the media reports and discussions of the churchs abuse of power in the early years of the twenty-first century few if any seemed to notice that the accusation of the churchs misuse of power presupposed a shared understanding of the positive use of power within the church that had been violated. Rather than an interest in the sociological aspect of this question this book examines the more ontological and normative aspects of it. That is it investigates and discerns the foundational theological framework of culture and society and the location and purpose of the church within them. As a cultural force and societal institution what does the church constructively bring to the human community?